Ideas are being put on trial in Canada. This became clear sitting in the courtroom at Toronto's Old City Hall on Thursday, April 28.
Jaggi Singh, one of the nation's most prominent anti-capitalist activists, pleaded guilty to urging people to take down the $5-million G20 summit fence erected in downtown Toronto last June. He was officially charged with "counselling to commit mischief over $5,000."
It lasted over 18 months, but Jason Kenney's attempt to ban George Galloway ended in complete and utter failure. On November 27, the former British MP, who was declared inadmissible to Canada in March 2009, joined hundreds of supporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa where he completed an 11-city, 12-day pan-Canadian speaking tour. In just under two weeks, Galloway sprinted across the country at break-neck speed, addressing in person nearly 8,000 people at sold-out meetings, reaching hundreds of thousands more through wall-to-wall media coverage.
"As any bookseller will tell you, the book you try to ban always ends up on the best-seller list," Galloway quipped in Ottawa. "Thanks to Jason Kenney, I have drawn thousands to my speaking events all across Canada."
Former British MP George Galloway will appear in 10 cities on a pan-Canadian speaking tour from November 16 to 27, 2010. Organized by local peace coalitions and Palestine solidarity campaigns across Canada, the tour is called "Free Palestine, Free Afghanistan, Free Speech." Mr. Galloway will speak about the Canadian government's attempts to ban him as well as the political situation in the Middle East and Central Asia.
OTTAWA (Oct. 18, 2010) - The Canadian Association of Journalists is adding its voice to the chorus of those saying an Ontario Justice of the Peace's bail conditions go too far.
The bail conditions set by Justice of the Peace Inderpaul Chandhoke on Alex Hundert, an alleged ringleader of G20 protests in June, include a ban on taking part in, organizing or attending any public event where political views are expressed. Included in the bail conditions is also a ban on speaking to the media while Hundert is out on bail awaiting the continuation of his court hearings on three charges of conspiracy.
Conservative U.S. pundit Ann Coulter was scheduled to speak at the University of Ottawa on March 23, but the event was cancelled before she even showed up. Organizers have tried to blame hundreds of student protesters, saying they infringed on her free speech rights.
But it wasn't students, the University of Ottawa or Ottawa police who cancelled Coulter's speech, as some reports claim. The event was cancelled by Ezra Levant, a self-styled "free speech" martyr who helped organize Coulter's three-city speaking tour in Canada.
For three days this week, the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) will appear in federal court to make its case against Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney. Just over four years ago, Kenney targeted CAF in response to its opposition to Israel's war on Gaza, and for criticizing the Canadian government's refusal to back a ceasefire. Without any consultation and ignoring his own department's rules and procedures, Kenney unilaterally cut federal funding for CAF's acclaimed immigration settlement program and abruptly ended an 11-year relationship with CAF.
